Till death do us part
I had no idea that death was such a booming business.
Last week saw the return of the dreaded suit and tie as I, once again, assumed the mantle of Mr Responsible. At least, there was a change of medium. On this occasion, mercifully, I was not the solicitor in private practice that has filled my last dozen years or so. This time I was Deputy Coroner for Cornwall.
Which raises a question: what is it that a coroner does? The common public perception is that he deals with inquests but that is only a small part of his duties - about 10% on average. The coroner is the person to whom a death must be reported if somone has died suddenly, unexpectedly, from non-natural causes or violently. Very often, this will be an elderly person who has died in hospital after a last procedure, a hip operation to repair a fractured neck of femur following a fall being typical. It also includes deaths in road traffic collisions (RTC), suicides, deaths in police custody and, very occasionally, murders.
The figures are startling. Last week I had nearly 60 deaths reported to me. Bear in mind that over half of all deaths will be signed off by doctors without reference to the coroner and you will see that it is no exaggeration to say that death is a booming business.
The first decision the coroner will have to make is whether the death has occured in circumstances which make a post mortem (pm) report necessary. This can be a troubling decision to have to make. No one wants to inflict a pointless procedure on someone who has suffered enough but against that has to be set the fact that another Dr Shipman could be out there, even now, doing his worst. Between 50 - 75% of reported deaths need a pm.
When the report comes to hand, the pathologist will give his professional opinion on whether the death was natural, unnatural or undetermined. Any finding other than natural is likely to require an inquest. Where samples are sent off for histology or toxicology reports, it may well be necessary to open an inquest and adjourn it immediately, in order to allow the family to dispose of the body. In Cornwall, there are about 250 inquests per year.
So what happened in my first week? Two murders - one involving a Cornishman believed to have been slain by pirates in Senegal, the second, a set of circumstances I am not able to relate. A request from the estranged wife of a deceased for a blood sample to be taken from his body to prove a son (aged 30) the deceased knew nothing about is his heir. The death of a youth in his thirties for no discernible reason. I also spent most of Friday reviewing the papers for a matter that is likely to be my first inquest, an RTC where a 17 year old youth - the possessor of a driving licence for less than six months - killed the wife of the other driver to whom she had been married for more than 50 years and her sister.
Work as a coroner is not for the faint-hearted.
Last week saw the return of the dreaded suit and tie as I, once again, assumed the mantle of Mr Responsible. At least, there was a change of medium. On this occasion, mercifully, I was not the solicitor in private practice that has filled my last dozen years or so. This time I was Deputy Coroner for Cornwall.
Which raises a question: what is it that a coroner does? The common public perception is that he deals with inquests but that is only a small part of his duties - about 10% on average. The coroner is the person to whom a death must be reported if somone has died suddenly, unexpectedly, from non-natural causes or violently. Very often, this will be an elderly person who has died in hospital after a last procedure, a hip operation to repair a fractured neck of femur following a fall being typical. It also includes deaths in road traffic collisions (RTC), suicides, deaths in police custody and, very occasionally, murders.
The figures are startling. Last week I had nearly 60 deaths reported to me. Bear in mind that over half of all deaths will be signed off by doctors without reference to the coroner and you will see that it is no exaggeration to say that death is a booming business.
The first decision the coroner will have to make is whether the death has occured in circumstances which make a post mortem (pm) report necessary. This can be a troubling decision to have to make. No one wants to inflict a pointless procedure on someone who has suffered enough but against that has to be set the fact that another Dr Shipman could be out there, even now, doing his worst. Between 50 - 75% of reported deaths need a pm.
When the report comes to hand, the pathologist will give his professional opinion on whether the death was natural, unnatural or undetermined. Any finding other than natural is likely to require an inquest. Where samples are sent off for histology or toxicology reports, it may well be necessary to open an inquest and adjourn it immediately, in order to allow the family to dispose of the body. In Cornwall, there are about 250 inquests per year.
So what happened in my first week? Two murders - one involving a Cornishman believed to have been slain by pirates in Senegal, the second, a set of circumstances I am not able to relate. A request from the estranged wife of a deceased for a blood sample to be taken from his body to prove a son (aged 30) the deceased knew nothing about is his heir. The death of a youth in his thirties for no discernible reason. I also spent most of Friday reviewing the papers for a matter that is likely to be my first inquest, an RTC where a 17 year old youth - the possessor of a driving licence for less than six months - killed the wife of the other driver to whom she had been married for more than 50 years and her sister.
Work as a coroner is not for the faint-hearted.
posted by Andy at 11:41 AM
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